Baden pleads guilty to arson, assault charges

a dwelling and five counts of armed assault with intent to commit murder on
Friday, June 7

in Middlesex Superior Court. He will be sentenced Aug. 21.

The charges had been filed in connection with a fire Jan. 18 in the
"kosher suite," where Baden lived, in Burton-Conner House.

Baden admitted to police investigators Jan. 18 that he set the fire early
that morning, using gasoline bought the day before. He had become a suspect
soon after the fire, according to the police report, because the "pour
mark" of the gasoline existed on the hallway carpet in front of every room
in the suite except Baden's room.

Baden did not return phone calls made over the past few days.

Baden had pleaded not guilty to the charges in February, when the case
moved from district court to superior court. Cambridge District Court,
where Baden was first arraigned, does not have jurisdiction over the
charges against him.

Levine did say that he would recommend a less severe sentence for Baden
than what the state

is expected to recommend, but would not give any details of it.

Assistant District Attorney Crispin Birnbaum will likely recommend a
20-year sentence at the Massachusetts Correctional Institution in Concord
in response to the armed assault charges, she said. If sentenced to Concord
prison, Baden would be eligible for parole after two years.

In response to the arson charge, Birnbaum said she would probably
recommend "a very strict suspended sentence for a period of five years
probation with psychiatric treatment." This sentence would take effect
after incarceration.

Birnbaum noted that the sentence will ultimately be determined by the
judge, Paul A. Chernoff.

Partial motive said to be

conflict with other student

Birnbaum said in court that Baden was partly motivated by animosity
toward his former next-door neighborin the suite, David E. Borison
'91, according to The Middlesex News.

One week prior to the fire, Borison and Baden had a major quarrel
concerning the standard of "kashrut," or "kosherness," of their suite
kitchen, one of a few kosher kitchens on campus. In an interview after the
fire, Borison said that he and Baden had been on friendly terms since the
dispute.

In court Levine said that Baden intended to harm Borison but not any of
the other suite members, The Middlesex News reported. Levine also
said that it is unclear what Baden's exact state of mind was at the time,
the News reported.

When contacted yesterday, Borison did not want to comment.

In court, Baden said he did not remember lighting the torch to set the
fire, but did recall making it, according to the News. Baden had
opened the door to Borison's room and poured gasoline inside, and then
ignited the gasoline to start the fire, the News reported.

The dormitory sprinkler system kicked in soon after and put out the fire.
Several students were treated for smoke inhalation, and one student broke
her jaw while leaving the building, the News reported. The fire
forced the evacuation of the dormitory.

When he was arraigned in January, Baden was ordered to stay away from the
MIT campus as part of the bail terms; that bail status has not changed,
Birnbaum said.

Associate Dean for Student Affairs James R. Tewhey said there is "no
question at all that MIT will take some action when the court case is
completed."

Tewhey added that if it is impossible to hold a hearing -- in the case
that Baden goes to jail -- "we might take action anyway." He added, "we
will evaluate it when we know what the circumstances are."

The Institute's policy on students who face criminal charges is to wait
until the court process has ended, Smith said.

Associate Dean for Student Affairs Robert M. Randolph did not want to
comment until after the sentencing, but he did say, "pleading guilty to
five counts

of assault with intent to murder is . . . an extremely serious
acknowledgment of guilt."

Randolph said the court had notified MIT and the other five suite members
of the court's actions as they occurred.

Levine said, "this case has a long way to go before it's going to be
resolved." He did not want to discuss it further, "given the history of it
. . . [and] because it affects too many people's lives."